Johannesburg – South Africa will ease COVID-19 restrictions and shorten its nationwide curfew from Monday (Sept. 20) after a decline in infections, President Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned in a televised address.
Authorities will also prolong the hours of alcohol sales, the president mentioned, further relaxing restrictions introduced in June to combat the third wave of cases caused by the Delta variant.
“Whereas the third wave is not yet over, we’ve seen a sustained decline in infections throughout the nation over the last few weeks,” Ramaphosa mentioned.
Authorities reported 3,961 new cases on Sunday, compared with a peak of about 26,500 per day in early July.
The announcement will bring the nation down one level in its five-tier system of restrictions, where 5 is the highest, to an ‘adjusted level 2’.
The curfew will begin one hour later at 11 p.m. however still last until four within the morning. Shops will be able to sell alcohol from Monday to Friday. All alcohol sales were banned in June, then allowed in shops from Monday to Thursday in July.
Bars and restaurants have been allowed to serve it throughout opening hours since July.
Ramaphosa appealed for more individuals to get vaccinated, saying there were enough doses for everyone, but only about 7 million individuals out of a population of more than 60 million were fully protected.
South Africa has been one of the worst-hit on the continent in terms of reported cases and deaths.
Health insurers have cited vaccine hesitancy as a key factor affecting the pace of the vaccination campaign.
Ramaphosa mentioned the nation was working hard to increase the number of individuals getting the shot, focusing on older or otherwise vulnerable individuals. He added that the nation was also vaccine passports and would provide more information on this later.
